Spatiotemporal patterns and trends of the Mongolian plateau wildfires

Based on the long-time series MODIS Fire Product, the spatiotemporal distributional patterns of the Mongolian Plateau wildfires were analyzed using ArcGIS. The future trend of the Mongolian Plateau wildfires was also examined with Hurst index. The study provided a scientific basis and reference for aspects such as the development of a secure ecological environment and the international ecological security. Results included: (1) The occurrence of Mongolian Plateau wildfires shows an upward trend in recent years, with alternating peaks and bottoms annually, and seasonal feature is that high occurrence in spring and autumn, low occurrence in summer and winter. (2) The wildfires of the Mongolian Plateau were also found to have a concentrate distribution, indicating that such behavior was not in a random process. Instead, certain factors may have contributed to their occurrence. (3) About 2/3 of the total burned area were in Mongolia, which located mainly in the grassland region near the eastern border, and in the forest and grassland region in the north. (4) The wildfires at the forest-grassland boundary area between eastem Mongolia and Inner Mongolia were found to be more persistent, while those at the area between the central north Mongolia and the Greater Khingan Mountains area in Inner Mongolia were found to be less persistent.